Hubris
by Gaara's Plaything
Summary: The war had left many a Deatheater either reformed or in prison. Some of the reformees were to attend monthly meetings to determine whether they were abiding by the rules set down. When Lucius Malfoy's case worker retires, Hermione Granger is assigned to take over. How will this affect her, both now and for the future? M for lemons, Dramione, Blaise/Hermione, Lucius/Hermione.


**I don't own the Harry Potter-verse characters or places, etc…**

_**Hubris**_

The click clack of heels was heard as a witch strolled down the hallways in the Ministry of Magic. The witch was Hermione Granger, and she was on her way to a meeting with someone she never thought she would ever have to deal with personally; Lucius Malfoy. She worked as an auror here in the Ministry, and Malfoy senior was due here for his monthly report. It was part of his provisional release that he report to the auror's office once a month for evaluation.

This was to allow his case manager, so to speak, to go over anything and everything he'd been doing since his release a little over two years ago. Lucius Malfoy had spent three years in Azkaban, and had had tracking spells cast on him and on his wand when he was released to keep watch on him. Every month he had to report in to the Ministry, and was going to have to do so for the next eight years of his life, unless he broke his probationary rules, then it was back to Azkaban.

Hermione wasn't actually his usual case manager, but Tyrell Argonne had handed in his resignation almost a month ago, as he'd reached the minimum retirement age and had wanted to leave immediately instead of staying longer, and Hermione had been given almost half of his case load. A lot of the former Deatheaters were on it, and Lucius Malfoy wasn't the only one she was concerned about.

So here she was, on her way to her first meeting with the former Lord Malfoy, known Deatheater and hater of anyone of less than pure heritage. At least, that was her perception of him. Argonne had put in his notes that Lucius seemed determined to change, especially after the death of his wife about fifteen months ago, and was apparently attempting to show people that he was changing. This meeting would show her whether or not he truly was repentant. Argonne had been a pureblood, so Lucius would definitely have been courteous to him.

She would see today how he would do with a so called mudblood. If he said _anything_ about her blood status, in a round about way or even directly, it would definitely be going in her report. Normally aurors didn't handle ex-Azkaban prisoners like this, it was usually handled by Magical Law Enforcement officers, but all Deatheaters fell under the jurisdiction of the auror office, so they handled cases like Lucius Malfoy, the Parkinsons and the Notts instead of the MLE.

Lucius was the only Malfoy who'd gone to Azkaban, and according to Argonne's reports, he'd gone willingly to spare his son, who'd been facing the real prospect of following his father to Azkaban. Narcissa Malfoy had never taken the Mark, and the fact that Harry had spoken up for her had ensured that she remained free up to her death a short while ago. Harry had also spoken up for Draco, whose wand had been tagged for five years, and he'd escaped more punishment because of that. Lucius's wand would always be tagged from now on, no matter what.

Draco Malfoy had been put under house arrest for a year, though he'd been able to take his NEWTs so that he could be a fully qualified wizard, and temporarily allowed out of the manor under guard to the Ministry to take those tests. Since he'd been released from his house arrest, he'd worked hard to restore the Malfoy name, and now he and his family were viewed simply as a pureblood family with a lot of money. People still remembered what they did, but the effort they all made showed that they were truly repentant.

But just how repentant? Hermione would see any moment now, because the door to the office where she would have her meeting with Lucius was in sight. She stood before it, taking deep breaths to steady herself, then she pushed the door open and walked in.

Lucius Malfoy was standing by a window, charmed with a view of the London skyline. As soon as she opened the door, he turned to face her, surprise registering briefly on his face before his cool mask slid back into place.

"Miss Granger," he drawled. "How unexpected it is to see you. I though Tyrell Argonne was going to be here."

He sat down in one of the chairs at the desk in the middle of the room as Hermione placed the folder with his file down. "Tyrell Argonne retired three weeks ago," she said. "I'm handling your case now."

"Ah," was all Lucius Malfoy had to say.

Opening the folder, Hermione also sat and then said, "Well, the records have shown that you haven't performed any illegal spells in the last month, and the tracking spells show that you're sticking to your prearranged schedule. No emergencies reported either. All we need to do is discuss your schedule for next month, then I'll sign you off as attended and you may leave."

Lucius nodded and pulled a folded up parchment out of his cloak, handing it to her. "The schedule is basically unchanged," he drawled. "Except that a visit to my son's home has been added on."

"And why are you going to Draco's apartment?" Hermione asked, looking over the schedule.

"For his birthday," Lucius said. "The fifth of June. I wish to spend a few days with my son."

"Alright, that is easily approved," she said. "Was there anything else you wished to discuss before I submit your schedule for approval?"

Lucius shook his head and Hermione stood. "I'll go submit this then," she said. "I'll be back shortly."

Hermione left the room and headed down the corridor to the main auror office, where the Head Auror, Gawain Robards, had his office. His secretary June Myles looked up and smiled at Hermione's approach.

"Hello dear," the witch greeted her. "What can I do for you?"

"I need a schedule approved by Robards," Hermione said. "For Lucius Malfoy."

June's eyebrow rose. "Malfoy, is it?" she commented. "And how did he react to the change in handler?"

Hermione shrugged. "He looked surprised, but then that infamous Malfoy mask slid on, and he hasn't given away what he really thinks since," she said.

"Well, you can go in and see the boss," June said, and Hermione did so.

After getting Lucius's schedule approved, Hermione headed back to the room where the elder Malfoy was still sitting down and handed him his schedule back, the approval of the Head Auror stamped onto it. "Just sign this," she said, pushing a release form towards him, "and you're free to go, Mister Malfoy."

Lucius stood after signing, then asked, "Are you remaining my permanent handler?"

Hermione nodded, and he went on, "Then perhaps you could call me Lucius instead."

She looked up in surprise, but his expression remained unchanged. "Maybe," she said, then turned to leave the room, but his voice stopped her.

"I am deeply sorry, Miss Granger, for all that you went through, especially in my home," he said. "I know there is no excuse for it, we were cowards, my family and I…"

"You don't need to apologise," she interrupted him. "It's fine."

And then she left.

OoOoO

The next six months passed as normal, except for the extra case loads Hermione had. Idris Nott and her son, Theo, were warm and pleasant, and she knew their change was genuine. Perhaps it was because Archibald Nott was in Azkaban, never to be released. Walter and Agitha Parkinson were cool but polite with her, but their daughter Pansy wasn't a part of the meetings, she'd been cleared of accusations that had been put up against her by bitter school mates.

Also, Michelina Petrovin, the mother of former Slytherin Blaise Zabini, was required to attend monthly meetings, but Hermione had a feeling that soon she wouldn't have to, as her behaviour had been above exemplary. Michelina had been volunteering her time at St Mungo's with the orphans there, and was even looking to adopt one of them when her probation was over. And if that wasn't enough to convince people she'd changed, she was currently dating a muggle, one who knew she was a witch and had a muggleborn sister of his own.

Her son had been given the same punishment as Draco, house arrest for a year and a tagged wand, which had come off about the same time Draco's had. There was only one other case that Hermione had, and that was the one of Gregory Goyle, who had been released only a short while ago, and was having difficulty understanding the restrictions placed on him, having been given several warnings already. Both of his parents were in Azkaban for life.

The meetings with Lucius Malfoy had improved, he was as polite and courteous as ever, but for some reason, they'd started talking, and were kind of getting along in a weird way. He was incredibly charming, and occasionally made her laugh with the things he would say. Six meetings after the first one, and they were calling one another by their given names. It felt so surreal to her, an irony of monumental proportions.

And then, coming as no surprise to her, Michelina Petrovin was released from her probation and went ahead and adopted two little girls from St Mungo's orphan ward. Hermione had received an invitation to the woman's upcoming January wedding to the muggle, Kevin his name was, and she'd accepted.

Lucius sat in front of her now for his seventh meeting since starting with her, and she was looking over his schedule, noting that Michelina's wedding was on it. "How do you feel that Michelina is marrying a muggle?" Hermione asked.

"I think she is crazy," Lucius said, "but only because Kevin seems far too quiet for someone like her."

She smiled at that. "You have no problem with the fact that he's a muggle?" Hermione asked. "What if Draco wanted to marry a muggle?"

A weird look briefly flitted across his face, then he sighed. "I may no longer have a problem with muggleborns and such," he said, "but I'm not sure I can ever get along with a muggle. There's just too much history where muggles have lashed out at wizards in fear for me to feel truly safe with them."

Hermione nodded, it was a common response with purebloods who'd been raised the way Lucius had. "Very well, you can go," she told him.

OoOoO

On the day of the wedding of Kevin Jones and Michelina Petrovin, Hermione attended the wedding with Ron as her date, though they hadn't actually been dating for a few years now. He'd agreed at the last minute when she realised she needed one, and now here they were. She felt a little unnerved at the sight of so many former Slytherins, but that was Michelina's family for you. Some of them were reformed, but other less so, as you could see them trying so hard not to be seen sneering at the family of Kevin Jones.

Blaise was here with Pansy Parkinson as his date, and Theo Nott was here with Daphne Greengrass, and Goyle was here with Millicent Bulstrode. Draco Malfoy, however, was nowhere to be seen when Hermione and Ron turned up. It wasn't only former Slytherins here, as Harry and Ginny had been invited, and Neville and his fiancée, Hannah Abbott were here too. The Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, was here to officiate the ceremony, and there were other Ministry employees here as well, and several healers from St Mungo's children's ward where Michelina was still volunteering.

Michelina's two adopted daughters, Leandra and Cecilia, were both flower girls, and Gloria Greengrass was her matron of honour, with Agitha Parkinson and Idris Nott as bridesmaids, along with Michelina's sister Penelope and sister in law Judith. Kevin's best man was his brother, and Michelina was being given away by Horace Slughorn, with whom she'd always been close. Except when Voldemort was in power though.

Once the ceremony started, Hermione finally spotted Draco, sitting with Theo, Daphne, Pansy and Daphne's younger sister, Astoria. So, was she his date then? Hermione scolded herself for wondering, it was none of her business.

Once the ceremony (which was beautiful and brought a tear to the eye of every female there) was over, Ron left, he had some pressing business due to his career, chaser for the Chudley Cannons. So Hermione was left to her own devices. The alcohol at this event flowed freely, and she partook eagerly, knowing that she wasn't going to be going to work the next day. Hermione was quite drunk rather quickly, though not horribly so, and she decided to find somewhere to sit down and rest. The wedding had been at the Petrovin manor, where Michelina and Kevin were going to be living, and Hermione wandered through the halls, eventually coming across a study.

About ten minutes after sitting alone in there, Hermione stood and perused a bookshelf, not hearing the door open and close. A voice startled her, and she turned to find Blaise there. "What?"

"I said, hello Granger," Blaise repeated himself, moving forward and crossing the distance between them.

Hermione's intoxicated brain caused her to ignore the fact that he ended up in her personal space, and she replied, "Oh, hi Blaise."

He chuckled, then leaned down to whisper in her ear, "What are you doing in here, _Hermione_?"

"Just looking," she told him, pushing him back firmly and ignoring his pout. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be playing the dutiful son right about now?"

He shrugged. "Mother's a bit too busy being disgustingly happy to notice whether or not I'm there," he told her.

"Disgustingly?" Hermione asked, eyebrow quirked.

"Yeah, disgustingly," he told her. "Honestly, does she bloody well have to rub it in everyone's face? We get it, she's 'in love'."

"Surely you should be glad your mother's happy?" Hermione asked.

"I am," Blaise said. "But my mother can get downright annoying when she is. Pretty soon, she's probably going to want to start interfering in my life, and I could do without the nuisance. I'm perfectly content with Pansy and our… ahem… _open_ relationship."

"Open relationship?" Hermione asked, her brow arched.

Nodding, Blaise told her, "We agreed to keep our options open until we were sure. Until then, both of us are free to pursue others, if we wish."

Hermione was quite disgusted by that, but, thanks to the all that alcohol she'd imbibed, she was incredibly turned on as well. That part of her was what kept her from moving away as Blaise closed the distance between them and kissed her. It was a wonderful kiss, the guy had excellent form, and Hermione felt herself responding. Pretty soon they were in a full on make out session, with her pressed up against the bookcase, Blaise's hands up her blouse. Her legs were wrapped around his waist and one of his hands had migrated up her skirt and in her knickers, when the sound of someone clearing their throat caused their actions to freeze.

They looked over to see Lucius Malfoy in the doorway, and Hermione suddenly couldn't stop blushing. She tried to push Blaise away, but he had a firm grip on her, his fingers not moving from their place inside her.

"Blaise," Lucius said. "Your mother and Miss Parkinson are looking for you."

Blaise sighed and reluctantly pulled away from her, his slow and torturous removal of his fingers causing her insides to twitch. "Perhaps we can finish this later, cara?" he suggested before licking her juices off his fingers, to Hermione's immense embarrassment.

Once he was gone, Lucius took a step forward and remarked, "Perhaps you should straighten yourself up before you leave the room."

Mortified, Hermione looked down to see that her blouse was unbuttoned, her cleavage bare for Lucius Malfoy's perusal, and she quickly buttoned it back up. Luckily, her skirt had fallen down nicely from where Blaise had hitched it up, saving her from _that_ embarrassment at least! Once she was done she found the courage to look up at the man before her, to find that he looked quite amused, and a little aroused, which embarrassed her even more.

"You are aware that Blaise is in a relationship with Miss Parkinson, correct?" he asked.

"He said it was an open one," Hermione mumbled.

"Indeed it is," Lucius confirmed. "But I believe that soon enough, the two of them will make a full commitment, once they're done playing, that is. Though it's quite understandable why he chose to consort with you, you _are_ a beautiful woman after all, Miss Granger."

Hermione blushed slightly at the compliment. "Thank you, Mister Malfoy," she said.

"Lucius," he corrected her, "and it's true. If I were a younger man…"

"What does age have to do with it?" Hermione asked rather boldly, pleased to see he looked surprised.

"Nothing, I suppose," he admitted, bringing his hand up to stroke her cheek. "Yes, I suppose there is no reason for it to be a barrier…"

They stood there a moment in silence, before Hermione realised that Lucius wasn't going to make any move, so she stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his. The response was instantaneous, and she was once again pressed up against the bookcase behind her, hands once more under her blouse. Hermione brought a leg up to wrap around Lucius's waist even as her blouse was ripped open, buttons flying in any direction. Then his lips were on her throat as he began to grind against her, causing Hermione to whimper in delight.

Her hands were then pulling at his dress robes until they'd come off, and her blouse, bra and knickers soon followed, her skirt remaining bunched at her waist. Her hands found his generous length and she tugged at him several times until he batted her hand away, positioning himself at her opening.

The instant Lucius entered her, Hermione felt a sense of fulfilment, one she'd never had with any other man she'd slept with. He sheathed himself all the way inside her, remaining still a moment before pulling out slightly, then pushing back in once more. He continued at this slow torturous pace until Hermione begged him, "Faster!" and he complied, setting a quick and steady pace that had her brain cells frying.

"Merlin, you're so tight, so beautiful," Lucius murmured in her ear as he pumped into her.

"Oh, ah!" was all that Hermione could muster in response as she felt the pressure of her orgasm building within her.

What seemed like an eternity later, yet also mere seconds, Hermione felt herself tip over into pure bliss as she achieved orgasm, squealing out Lucius's name even as she vaguely registered that he was coming as well, her name falling from his own lips. Bright lights exploded behind her eyes and then Hermione was falling back to earth, Lucius thrusting the last of his orgasm into her. She could feel his white hot seed coating her insides, and a vague, sensible thought that she was glad she'd taken her monthly contraceptive potion on time entered her head before vanishing.

They stood there a moment, leaning into one another, before pushing apart. Hermione gathered up her clothes and her wand, muttering a quick 'scourgify' and 'reparo' before redressing. By the time she was done, she noted that Lucius had done the same. Neither said anything a moment, and Hermione wasn't sure what they were going to do now. Were they going to ignore this? She was his case manager still, it would complicate things if they had a relationship, wouldn't it?

Finally she asked, "What do you want to do?"

"Perhaps we should chalk this up to the alcohol," Lucius said, and Hermione nodded, finding herself both relieved and disappointed.

"It would be best," she agreed, not knowing how she was going to face him at the Ministry once she'd sobered up.

Lucius bowed slightly. "Miss Granger," he said formally, before turning and leaving.

Hermione sat down on one of the chairs in the room, not really moving or thinking, which was how Blaise found her an hour later, somehow figuring that she'd hooked up with someone, and didn't pursue his earlier attempts at seduction. Hermione went home that night with a heavy weight on her chest.

OoOoO

The appointments with Lucius continued as normal for the next several months, and they were strained and incredibly formal. Especially when rumours began to circulate that he'd started to date the widow of a former Deatheater, rumours that were confirmed for Hermione when his schedule started to show dates with Adrastea Warrington, the mother of Caspian Warrington, a former Slytherin who'd been a year ahead of Hermione.

True to Lucius's prediction, Blaise and Pansy had become officially engaged, though not before he'd tried to seduce Hermione one more time, succeeding only because she'd just come from a meeting with Lucius. Blaise had fucked her in a storage closet in the Ministry three times before they'd stumbled out and off their separate ways. It was only a couple of days later that the engagement had been announced, and Hermione figured she'd been a final conquest before Blaise gave in and settled down with only one witch.

Their wedding was in six months, two months after Theo and Daphne's impending nuptials. There were rumours of a double Greengrass wedding, but Hermione knew from Lucius that his son wasn't marrying Astoria. In fact, the two weren't even dating anymore. Hermione wondered if Lucius was going to marry Adrastea, it would certainly be a perfectly acceptable society wedding amidst the purebloods.

To her surprise, Hermione had received an invitation to Blaise and Pansy's wedding. When she questioned Blaise about the appropriateness, considering they'd slept together, he'd told her it didn't really matter, and that a few of the men Pansy had slept with were invited as well, a list that, rather surprisingly, included Ron. Obviously that had been when he and Lavender had broken up for about three months before getting back together.

The wedding was now mere days away, and Hermione was once more sitting in front of Lucius Malfoy in their usual meeting place, with his schedule in front of her. She'd just returned from getting it approved, noting that he would be at the Zabini/Parkinson wedding, attending with Adrastea Warrington.

"Everything's in order," she told him. "You're good to go, Mr Malfoy."

"Thank you Miss Granger," he said, and he stood, bowing slightly before leaving the room.

Each meeting with him was harder and harder, but she forced herself to continue, her pride causing her to refuse to hand his case over to another auror. Lucius had been her last meeting for the day, and Hermione headed back to her office to finish up her paperwork. Once that was done, she almost ran out of there, bumping rather violently into someone on the way to the lifts.

"Oof!" she and her unintended victim both grunted as she fell to the floor, her bag falling to the ground.

"Watch where you're going!" the other person snapped, then they said in a surprised tone, "Granger?"

Looking up, Hermione found Draco Malfoy standing over her, and after a moment of the two of them simply staring at one another, he held out his hand, helping her up when she took it. "What are you doing careening through the Ministry halls, Granger?" he asked her with a drawl that was so like his father's.

"I was just in a hurry to get home, that's all," she told him, turning to bend and pick up her bag.

When she straightened, she noted that he looked up very quickly to her face, almost as if he'd been checking out her arse. "Well, hurry or not, you really shouldn't make a habit of running through here," he told her. "You never know who you might literally bump into."

"Like reformed Deatheaters trying to make amends for their mistakes?" she asked, brows arching.

Draco smirked at her. "Exactly," he agreed, then asked her out to dinner, which she accepted.

They went out that very night, nowhere fancy though, just to the Leaky Cauldron. Draco admitted to her that his date to Blaise and Pansy's wedding had fallen through, and when Hermione admitted she didn't even have a date for it to begin with, he offered to escort her there, and she accepted. She listened as he also complained about that 'awful Warrington woman', who was apparently already making plans for Malfoy Manor, so sure she was going to be Lady Malfoy soon enough.

But what she apparently didn't know was that Draco was in charge of everything to do with the Manor and the Malfoy fortune, and that if she married his father, she would be living on an allowance. He might not live at the Manor anymore, but Draco had a lot of sway over his father's lifestyle. It amused him to no end that his father hadn't enlightened the 'shrew' about it either.

"I'm hoping that means that he's not really serious about her," Draco admitted. "As awful as it is to think about it, I think my father is just with her for the sex."

He made a face and Hermione forced a smile to her lips.

Their date ended with Draco escorting her to the nearest apparition point, though she could tell he wanted her to invite him to her place for a nightcap that would end up with a night of shagging, and she was seriously tempted. But Hermione had flung herself into sex too easily of late, and she didn't want to rush anything with Draco. So she said goodbye to him, allowed him to give her a nice, deep kiss, then apparated back home.

OoOoO

The day of the wedding saw her enter the wizard hotel on Draco's arm, with camera flashes going off in front of them. With how public Blaise and Pansy's wedding was, there was sure to be all sorts of reporters here, and the public appearance of the so called Golden Girl, Harry Potter's best friend, with a Malfoy was certain to cause a stir. But Hermione just ignored the press as Draco led her swiftly through the throng and into the huge room where Blaise was already waiting for his best man. Draco saw Hermione to her seat, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and took off to join Blaise up front.

An hour later, Pansy walked down the aisle to meet her new husband, and once his best man duties were over, Draco re-joined Hermione and they took off for the reception which was being held in yet another wizarding hotel. Draco told her it was because Blaise and Pansy couldn't agree which one to hold the wedding at, and had compromised by splitting it and the reception between the two.

Hermione hadn't seen Lucius anywhere during the wedding, but once they were all seated for the reception, she spotted him immediately, Adrastea Warrington clinging to his arm. He looked up and saw her, glanced at his son, then back to her before looking away. Hermione frowned and returned her attention to where Theo was taking the piss out of Blaise with stories from their time at Hogwarts. Pre-war, of course.

Once all the speeches were out of the way, dinner was served, and Hermione ate hers, not really paying much attention to the conversation at the table around her. She was more focused on the fact that Draco had one hand on her leg, and was gently stroking her along it. There was definitely a lot of champagne and firewhiskey here, and though she didn't imbibe as much as she had at Michelina's wedding, she certainly had her fair share.

After dinner music began to play, and Blaise and Pansy had their first dance as husband and wife before other couples joined them on the floor, Draco and Hermione included. He held her close as they danced, one hand on the small of her back, the other running along her arm. Hermione leaned into him, closing her eyes and sighing.

"How much have you had to drink?" Draco asked.

"Not as much as the last wedding I attended," she grumbled, rather liking it when his chest rumbled with a chuckle.

"I remember," he said. "I swear I've never seen anyone who wasn't a guy or a Slytherin drink as much as you did that night."

Hermione frowned and looked up at him. "It wasn't that bad, was it?" she asked, genuinely confused.

"Granger, you were totally sloshed," he told her. "I remember Blaise telling me how he found you, incredibly intoxicated, in his mother's study."

"O-oh," she stuttered. "Wh-what else did he tell you?"

"That he tried to seduce you, but my father interrupted," Draco said. "Don't worry, I know he succeeded later, he told me after it happened."

He must have mistaken the look on her face, because he said in a reassuring tone, "It doesn't bother me, if that's what you're worried about. It's in the past."

That wasn't what she was worried about, but there was really no way for her to even think of starting the conversation that had him finding out that, after his father had interrupted her and Blaise, he'd then proceeded to fuck her himself, and she'd been nothing but a nervous wreck around the man since, though she believed she'd hidden it as well as she could.

Once the reception was over and people started to leave, a slightly tipsy Hermione found herself being apparated to Draco's flat, where her date proceeded to snog the life out of her. They'd landed in his bedroom, undoubtedly a deliberate move on his part, and Hermione found herself being pushed up against the door of what was probably a built in wardrobe. His hands were all over her as they both tried to meld into one person, before Draco lifted her up and carried her over to his bed, following her down as he lowered her on to it.

Hermione moaned and arched into him as Draco's hand pressed between her thighs, then he was pulling her dress off over her head. Hermione helped him out of his white shirt and black slacks, and soon they were both as naked as the day they were born. Draco immediately headed south, and Hermione's eyes widened in pleasure and surprise as his lips connected with hers, but not the ones on her mouth.

Her hands ran through his hair, tugging sharply here and there as Draco gave her an orgasm with his incredibly talented tongue before moving upwards to kiss her long and deep, shifting his body over her and preparing himself. Then, in one swift thrust, he was inside her, moving at a steady pace, her hips coming up to met his with each thrust. Hermione hadn't actually had sex since Blaise cornered her in that Ministry cupboard, but she felt that this was worth the wait.

Once she came down from the high of her second orgasm, Hermione was delighted when Draco pulled her close to him, cuddling her. Smiling, she let herself fall asleep to the sound of his steady breathing.

OoOoO

Seven months later and Hermione and Draco were still dating, and they were actually getting pretty damned serious. So serious, in fact, that her boss had pulled her off Lucius's case, citing a 'conflict of interest' as she was dating his son. If only he knew… They were so happy, they'd even exchanged 'I love you's'. Hermione was incredibly happy, and felt that absolutely nothing could ruin this and bring her down.

She never should have jinxed it with that thought.

It was an ordinary day when it happened, Hermione went to work, going through a hoard of paperwork, took lunch, had her monthly appointment with Goyle, who was slowly getting better, then packed everything up and went home precisely at five. Draco had owled her the other day to expect him tonight, and she was excite at what it could mean. So she showered and changed into a nice black and white sundress that Draco'd told her looked absolutely delicious on her, and waited. And waited and waited and waited.

Concerned, she looked over at the time, seeing that it was nearing midnight, and Draco still hadn't turned up. She was about to floo over to his apartment to see if he was there, when the crack of apparition sounded through her flat. Leaping to her feet, she found Draco slouched in her kitchen, so drunk it was a wonder he hadn't splinched himself.

"Draco!" she exclaimed, rushing to him, but he pushed her off.

"I've got summat t' say to you," he slurred. "I know whatcha did, ya know!"

He giggled at his slur, then tried to look serious as Hermione dragged him into the living room and dumped him on her couch. She disappeared back into the kitchen, returning a moment later with a sobering potion, which he refused to take.

"D'you know where I was earlier?" he asked. "I went to see my father, to… to… to get something, I forget what. Oh! To get the Malfoy ring! That's it!"

"Draco, you really should take the potion," Hermione said shakily, wondering if her paranoid mind was correct with where it was going.

"I don' want it," he slurred, pushing her away. "I jus wanna know why, Herm… Herm… Why's your name so bloody difficult?"

Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but he interrupted her. "You had sex with my father!" he yelled rather loudly, and Hermione winced. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I was drunk!" she told him.

"Drunk?" he asked. "You were drunk when you slept with _me_ the first time. Is that the only way you'll sleep with us? With enough alkee… er alker… booze in your blood?"

"Draco," she said softly, but he wasn't done.

"Why'd you even say yes t' me?" he demanded. "You should've said no, but you let me touch you after _he _had… Did you think it would be funny to have the complete Malfoy set or something?"

"Stop it!" Hermione screech, finally snapping, causing Draco to stare at her stupidly. "Ok, yes, I had sex with your father, and yes, maybe he influenced my going out with you initially. But Draco, I _love _you. _You!_ Sure, I didn't tell you about your father, but just how the hell was I supposed to do that? I mean, seriously, it's your father! What was I supposed to say, dammit?!"

Draco glared at her, then snatched the sobering potion from her hand, downing it in one go. They sat in silence for a moment, waiting for the potion to kick in, then Draco whispered, "He was rubbing it in my face. When I went to ask him for the family rings so I could propose to you properly, he just casually asked if I knew he'd fucked you first."

Hermione gasped. She had no idea Lucius was this cruel, he'd always been so polite and charming whenever she'd seen him. But then, he probably saved that for dealing with people other than his son, people who didn't really know the real him.

"To make matters worse," he went on, "he told me how afterwards, he could see you still desired him, even after we were dating. He told me how he could twist a finger, and you'd undoubtedly go running to him."

"I won't," Hermione told him fiercely, moving to him and taking his face in her hands. "There's no way I would ever go back to him that way, especially now."

"Especially now?" Draco asked, a slight sneer in his voice. "So, before I came here tonight, you would have?"

"No I wouldn't have!" Hermione denied, frustrated. "I told you, _I love you!_ I love you when you're being a wanker, when you're at you most charming, hell, I even love you when you wake me in the middle of the night with your Merlin damned snoring!"

Draco frowned. "I don't snore," he contradicted.

"You really do," Hermione told him, "but that's not the point. The point is, please don't hold one drunken indiscretion against me. I don't want to lose you over this."

"Drunken indiscretion?" he asked and she nodded.

Sighing, Draco let her sit on the couch next to him, wrapping his arms around her as she leaned in close to him. "Do you hate me?" she asked, her voice a mere whisper, but with her insecurities clearly heard.

"No," he told her, then groaned. "I think I'm still a little drunk, that potion didn't get rid of all the alcohol."

"At least you can pronounce it now," she told him, and he whacked her arm lightly. "Do you want another one?"

"Maybe later," he told her, then they were silent for awhile.

Eventually Hermione asked, "Why does your father have the family rings? I mean, you're Lord Malfoy legally after all."

"Tradition," he told her. "For the last ten generations, the patriarch of the family holds the rings so that he can refuse the match if the girl isn't worthy of the Malfoy name. It's a stupid tradition, really."

"Do you really need the Malfoy rings to propose to me?" Hermione asked.

"Just what are you saying, Granger?" Draco asked her. "Do you want me to buy brand new rings?"

Hermione shrugged. "If it will cause less drama…"

"It will probably cause more," he told her, and then she somehow knew he was smirking. "You know what, it's a bloody brilliant idea."

OoOoO

Hermione was waiting outside the office where Lucius Malfoy was having his monthly appointment with his new case manager Arnon Vilch. Arnon was a vile man with a short temper, and already she'd heard that he and Lucius had argued a few times. It gave her immense pleasure that he was having a lot of difficulty with the infuriating man. No one really liked him at all.

About ten minutes later, Arnon came storming out of the room, muttering under his breath about ungrateful Malfoy bastards, completely ignoring Hermione's presence. All the better as she didn't want any witnesses for what she was about to do. Taking in a deep breath, Hermione stepped into the room. Lucius looked up when she entered, something unreadable flickering over his face. He was as handsome as ever, but Hermione rather gratefully found herself immune to him now. Her heart, body and soul belonged to another after all.

"Miss Granger," he greeted with that drawl of his, so like his son's. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

The slight emphasis he put on the word pleasure had her realising that he was attempting to charm her once more, but she brushed it off. "I just wanted to be the one to tell you that when you return to the Manor, you'll find all of your personal belongings packed and on the lawn," she told him, shifting her hand so that he couldn't miss the brand new ring that adorned her left ring finger.

He actually sneered at the sight of it, then recovered and said, "I think you chose the wrong Malfoy, _Hermione_."

"I doubt it," she told him. "When you've gathered your belongings from the Manor, a house elf will apparate you to your new home. Don't worry, it's all Ministry approved."

She turned and left the room then, sauntering down the hall towards the reception area where Draco waited for her. But Lucius wasn't done yet. He followed her out and grabbed her arm, turning her back to him and pulling her close. "Hermione," he began, but he was prevented from whatever he was going to say by another.

"I suggest you let my fiancée go, father," Draco said from behind her, and when Lucius reluctantly released her, Hermione headed straight for her fiancé.

"You're not going to be a part of our life, father," Draco told the defeated man in front of them. "Nor the life of our children. Goodbye."

Draco and Hermione turned and walked off to their new life, sparing no thought for the man behind them.

**Please review.**


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